New York Knicks head coach Tom Thibodeau spoke on setting a major career milestone on Saturday.
Knicks HC comments on wins milestone in New York
According to Posting and Toasting’s Antonio Losada, coach Thibodeau had this to say about passing Pat Riley for fourth on the Knicks’ all-time head coaching wins list:
“All the individual stuff, it’s a byproduct of the team working together. I’ve had a great team. I’ve got great players. It’s a great organization, so you share in all that stuff as a group. As far as Pat Riley, he’s unbelievable, probably the best to ever do it. I was fortunate to be with Jeff [Van Gundy] and Jeff I put up there with anybody. Those guys had great impact on my coaching philosophy,” Thibodeau said.
Thibodeau’s coaching experience helped fuel him to feat
Thibodeau’s extensive coaching record has helped him reach this point in his career. The 67-year-old now has 224 wins as Knicks head coach. The accomplishment was achieved in New York’s 121-105 win over the Atlanta Hawks. Thibodeau’s feat comes after decades of serving under accomplished head coaches.
Notably, the Connecticut native was an assistant coach to Jeff Van Gundy from 1996-2002. Van Gundy now sits above Thibodeau at No. 3 on the all-time Knicks list. Coaches like the former, as well as the others that the two-time NBA Coach of the Year mentioned post-game, have all brought revolutionary tactics to the league from the sidelines. That has contributed to Thibodeau’s fabric.
Now, the Knicks’ leader will look to catch Van Gundy. He needs only 25 more wins to do so. That could realistically come next season, as he’s won at least 47 games in each of his last three seasons at the helm of the team.